Local boy at a traditional Urus Iruitos floating reed village on the banks of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia

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Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m (12,500 ft) above sea level making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America. The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department. Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, a group of 42 or so artificial islands made of floating reeds (totora, a reed that abounds in the shallows of the lake). These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. Many of the islands contain watchtowers largely constructed of reeds.

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Size: 3413px × 5120px
Location: Lake Titicaca in Bolivia
Photo credit: © Steve Allen Travel Photography / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: altitude, america, bolivia, boy, destination, floating, hat, high, iruitos, island, lake, latin, laugh, local, reed, smile, south, titicaca, totora, tourism, tourist, travel, uros, village